The present invention relates to an information display system for displaying information in operatively interlocked relation between a plurality of portable terminals and a display device, or in particular to an information display system and a system processing method in which a single display device can be shared by a plurality of users.
In recent years, the use of portable terminals including a portable telephone and a personal digital assistance (PDA) has widely extended. The connectable areas of the portable telephones have spread over the whole country, and the portable terminals equipped with the functions of electronic mail and internet connection as well as phone call are the order of the day. Also with other types of portable terminals, the extension of the wireless LAN service in all urban areas has made possible the connection to a network at all places. The user thus can access the information on the network at any place. Nevertheless, the portability is crucial for the portable terminals, for which the compactness and lightweight are given priority. The display screen, therefore, is small as compared with that of the personal computer, etc. For this reason, it is difficult to read a long sentence or to view a large image. Another problem is that only one user can watch the screen at a time.
In order to solve this problem, JP-A-2002-164968 discloses a system in which a plurality of portable telephones and a display device are connected directly to each other so that the display device can be used as a display screen for the portable telephone.
JP-A-2002-123698, on the other hand, proposes a system in which a display device placed at a street corner is used as a display screen of the portable telephones held by the users.